Whats your favorite woods for knife handles?

Kentucky

Kentucky

Joined
Dec 13, 2008
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Id have to say my very favorite has to be Desert Ironwood:D..I also like Claro Walnut and just tried some Curly Koa I really like too..What about you?
 
Cocobolo and Bocote, readily accessible, affordable and gorgeous if you get a good piece
 
I love Desert Ironwood as well. I have about a dozen pairs. The only problem is, I haven't made a knife worth of them yet. I'm not sure I ever will, they're just too stinking pretty!

But so far, of the wood I've used, I'm liking Bocote and Maple. Have lots of stabilized maple and it seems to always turn out well.
 
I like contrast and interesting figure. For me the burls are best, and Amboyna Burl is pretty much the top of the heap.
 
If I had only one choice it would go to box elder. The reason I say this is it can have so many looks and finishes. Dyed black it looks like the finest of marble.


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I like ironwood, but I don't use it very frequently because good pieces are expensive, it requires sharp tooling, and it dulls tooling quickly.

For knives I sell, I like cocobolo and African blackwood. They're attractive, reasonably priced, don't tear up cutters too fast, machine well, and dimensionally stable. You do have to be careful with dust from cocobolo, it is a skin sensitizer.

Personally, I like Osage orange. It is tough, stable, durable, grippy when covered in goo. The problem is, it doesn't attract a lot of buyers because it isn't real pretty. I think of it as natures micarta. Most people looking for something like that just want micarta, but I just love a good piece of plain sawn (tangential grain) osage orange.

I've been working a lot of G10 this week. I hate that stuff, it eats up tooling and deposits a fine layer of sand everywhere. I'll be pumping some sumps on Monday...
 
If you do pump those sumps on Monday it will be 2012, a new year, so might as well tip a cold one while your pumping.

Happy new year, Fred
 
I have a small case of materials I like the most.
In it are Ivories and Mother of pearls, but the only woods are Desert Ironwood Burls.
For all around excellent wood my choice is Cocobolo with red and black coloring.
Happy New Year!!!!!!
 
I really like Wenge and Bastogne Walnut, Purpleheart has to be my least favorite to finish.
 
favorite all around? osage orange. When toasted, it is just really pretty. Favorite looker? black and white ebony.
 
I wouldn't say I have used enough to have a favorite yet but I just ordered a piece of stabilized crushed velvet koa from burl source and it is beautiful!
 
reiko1078 said:
I wouldn't say I have used enough to have a favorite yet but I just ordered a piece of stabilized crushed velvet koa from burl source and it is beautiful!
Click to expand...

So you took that piece as I was completing my checkout!! I lost 3 different blocks today AS I went through the checkout process!!

I currently have 2 blocks and a set of scales of Koa in front of me so I have to say it is high on the list. Really anything with chattoyance is great. I've found that figure without glow or movement is lacking something. Even a plain grain in something like padauk can be overcome by it's glow.

Koa, maple, ironwood, blackwood are high on the list- but there are many more. I must say that Osage surprised me when I have tried it.

Seeing
 
Claro Walnut crotch, Q/S White Oak Crotch, Curly Myrtle, Bocote. I have pretty simple tastes.
 
I havent gotten to play with some of the woods mentioned so far, I do like walnut, but my favorite would have to be regular hickory. How many axe handles out there have been in service for decades with straight grained hickory handles?

Joe
 
My favorite are Stabilized Redwood Burl,Stabilized Curly Redwood, and Desert Ironwood. I could only use those three and be happy.
 
I just love all the figures and the flash you can get from Redwood Burls, but I like figured Walnut too. Recently I worked some sycamore and that was impressive
 
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